Socio-ecological niche: a conceptual framework for integration of legumes in smallholder farming systems
Socio-ecological niche: a conceptual framework for integration of legumes in smallholder farming systems
复制标题
社会生态位：将豆类纳入小农耕作系统的概念框架
DOI：
10.1080/14735903.2006.9686011
复制
发表时间：
2006
影响因子：
3.4
通讯作者：
K. E. Giller
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
J. Ojiem;N. Ridder;B. Vanlauwe;K. E. Giller
有许多具有巨大潜力但尚未被小农接受的技术的例子。通常，由于这些系统固有的高度异质性，这些技术不太适合小农系统。例如，尽管豆类潜力巨大，但撒哈拉以南非洲许多地区的小农采用豆类的情况仍然较差。广泛的生物物理（例如气候、土壤肥力等）和社会经济变量（例如偏好、价格、生产目标等）影响小农系统中豆类的使用。虽然其中一些变量限制了某些豆类的采用，但其他变量却为在同一系统中有益地利用其他豆类提供了机会。因此，只有同时确定和解决所有主要的生物物理和社会经济限制，才能实现小农系统中豆类的广泛采用。本文提出的“社会生态位”概念提供了实现这一目标的框架。在任何特定的农业活动区域中，社会生态位是通过农业生态、社会文化、经济和生态因素的融合而创建的，以描述可以预测兼容技术的多维环境。社会生态位概念可以应用于技术开发的许多不同背景。然而，本文讨论了其在豆类技术开发方面的用途。提出了两个案例研究来说明这一概念并证明其实际意义。这一概念正在用于肯尼亚西部小农耕作系统中正在进行的豆类研究。
There are numerous examples of technologies with great potential that have not been accepted by smallholder farmers. Quite often, these technologies do not fit well into smallholder systems due to the inherent high level of heterogeneity of these systems. For example, despite their great potential, the adoption of legumes by smallholder farmers in many parts of sub-Saharan Africa has remained poor. A wide range of biophysical (e.g. climate, soil fertility, etc.) and socio-economic variables (e.g. preferences, prices, production objectives etc.) influence the use of legumes in smallholder systems. While some of these variables constrain the adoption of some legumes, others offer opportunities for beneficial use of other legumes in the same system. Therefore, widespread adoption of legumes in smallholder systems can only be achieved if all of the major biophysical and socio-economic constraints are simultaneously identified and addressed. The ‘socio-ecological niche’ concept proposed in this paper provides the framework through which this might be achieved. The socio-ecological niche, in any given region of agricultural activity, is created by the convergence of agro-ecological, socio-cultural, economic and ecological factors, to describe a multidimensional environment for which compatible technologies can be predicted. The socio-ecological niche concept can be applied in many different contexts in technology development. However, this paper discusses its use with respect to the development of legume technologies. Two case studies are presented to illustrate the concept and to demonstrate its practical significance. The concept is being used in on-going research on legumes in smallholder farming systems in western Kenya.